rumours

Former New York mayor and current Donald Trump campaign surrogate Rudy Giuliani took the stage in Ocala, Florida, on 12 October 2016 and launched into a 10-minute diatribe against Hillary Clinton, maintaining (among other accusations) that Clinton had lied when she said she was in New York City on 11 September 2001, the day terrorist …

For years, the prevailing theories about how life originated on Earth (and, perhaps, beyond) relied entirely on traumatic events, such as a lightning strike or a volcanic blast that created the first amino acids on the planet.  As Charles Darwin once observed: The original spark of life may have begun in a warm little pond, with all …

On 9 October 2016, actress, writer and often comically-inclined commentator Carrie Fisher was on the social media platform Twitter discussing the second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in St. Louis, Missouri, when a fan asked her if Trump’s audible sniffling was the result of cocaine use. “I’m an expert ABSOLUTELY,” Fisher replied. …

Claim: Actor Robert De Niro blasted Donald Trump in a video meant to encourage people to vote. true Origin:Actor Robert De Niro was among the celebrities tapped to record a neutral message encouraging voters to go to the polls in the November 2016 presidential election, but he apparently went off script to blast the Republican …

Claim: The European Scientific Journal, a peer-reviewed academic publication, concluded that the collapse of the Twin Towers and World Trade Center Building 7 on 11 September 2001 was the result of a controlled demolition. False 15-years after the attacks on September 11th, the European Scientific Journal, a publication of the European Scientific Institute (ESI), published …

Claim: Bees have been classified as an endangered species. MIXTURE WHAT’S TRUE: Seven species of Hawaiian yellow-faced bees were recently added to the endangered species list. WHAT’S FALSE: Bees as a class of insect have not been added to the endangered species list. Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2016] There is an article circulating Facebook …

Claim: Melania Trump has announced she’s endorsing Hillary Clinton. false Origin:On 7 October 2016, after a tape surfaced that captured Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump discussing women in vulgar terms during the 2005 taping of a segment for “Access Hollywood,” the Free Wood Post web site published an article reporting that Trump’s wife Melania was …

Claim: Joyce Meyer died “shortly after taking ill” in October 2016. false Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2016] joyce meyers died thursday october 6, 2016? http://updater24.com/breaking-news-joyce-meyer-dies-73/ Origin:On 6 October 2016, a rumor raced through social media that Joyce Meyer, a Christian writer and inspirational speaker, had suddenly died after a short illness. The rumor was …

Claim: Congress passed a law authorizing citizens to shoot and kill “suspicious clowns.” False Example: [Collected via Facebook, October 2016] Origin:According to a fake news story published on the self-described “entertainment” web site Daily Finesser, the U.S. Congress has passed a law authorizing citizens to shoot and kill “suspicious” or “malicious” clowns on sight: Authorities Authorize The …

Claim: 40 million Russians conducted drills for an imminent nuclear strike. mixture WHAT’S TRUE: Millions of Russians engaged in emergency drills beginning on 4 October 2016, according to the English-language web site belonging to its emergencies ministry. WHAT’S FALSE: The drills are meant to prepare the country for a large-scale disaster, but the ministry overseeing …

Claim: A man wearing a clown costume was shot in Fort Wayne, Indiana. FALSE Origin:On 30 September 2016, the web site WaneTV.Wordpress.com published an reporting that a man wearing a clown costume was in critical condition after being shot in Fort Wayne, Indiana: A man dressed as a clown was shot on the city’s south …

Claim: A video shows a mother forcibly shaving her daughter’s head as punishment for making fun of a bald cancer patient. Unproven Origin:In June 2016, a video showing a mother forcibly shaving her daughter’s head was widely circulated via social media, along with a backstory holding that the girl had made fun of a bald …

On 26 September 2016, hundreds of small earthquakes rumbled across southern California’s inland Salton Sea. Following that swarm, stories began to appear that an earthquake advisory had been issued for the Imperial Valley and surrounding regions: The swarm occurred in a region known as the Brawley seismic zone, which is located near a fault network …

Claim: Leonardo DiCaprio endorsed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Twitter. FALSE Allegedly, Leonardo DiCaprio went on Twitter after a meeting with President Obama to say he’s voting for Trump. Is this real? Origin:On 29 September 2016, the web site HitPolitics.com published an article reporting that actor Leonardo DiCaprio had endorsed Donald Trump on Twitter after meeting with …

Claim: Hillary Clinton once lauded the Trans-Pacific Partnership (which she later opposed) as setting the “gold standard” in trade agreements. True Origin:Among the various accusations exchanged by the two candidates during the first presidential debate between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump on 26 September 2016 was Trump’s assertion that Clinton lauded the multi-nation trade agreement …

Claim: The city of Montreal has passed a ban on pit bulls that requires owners to euthanize their pets. mostly true WHAT’S TRUE: Montreal’s city council has voted in favor of a ban on new ownership of pit bulls and strict regulations on existing pit bulls. WHAT’S FALSE: The law does not require that all …

 Shimon Peres, who was one of the last politicians alive who was present when the state of Israel was created, has died after suffering a stroke.  He was 93.  Peres was born in Wiszniew, Poland (now Belarus) in 1923, and moved with his family to what was then known as British Mandate Palestine when he was …

Claim: Donald Trump deleted a years-old claim that China invented the concept of global warming from his Twitter account. false Example: [Collected via Twitter, September 2016] Origin:The 26 September 2016 presidential debate at New York’s Hofstra University was raucous and bombastic (as expected).  At one point, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton accused her Republican counterpart, Donald Trump, …

Claim: A woman saved multiple lives by using her concealed carry pistol to take down a department store shooter in Virginia. false Origin:On 24 September 2016, the Associated Media Coverage fake news site, which has now rebranded itself as the Boston Tribune, published an article reporting that a woman with a concealed carry permit had …

Claim: Researchers have found a simple cure for cancer, but major pharmaceutical companies are not interested because it isn’t patentable. mostly false WHAT’S TRUE: Preliminary research indicated dichloroacetate (DCA) might show promise for treating some forms of cancer. WHAT’S FALSE: DCA is a not a proven “cure” for cancer, nor is it being spurned by …